The Iron in the Blood
by shinyget
Summary: A collection of moments from the lives of the members of Team Dark. First chapter's summary: after a messy mission, Shadow and Omega make a late night visit to Rouge's apartment.


"…You're getting my floor dirty."

"Hmph," came the abrupt, gruff reply of the hedgehog whose arrival had been moments before. Beside him stood Omega, equally covered in grime, and to his front was the owner of the apartment and their soon-to-be-host for the night, Rouge. It was obvious from her haphazardly put on robe that their sudden arrival had startled her awake. Late night trips were something to avoid, but where else was he to go this late when they only needed a place to rest briefly?

"Well, don't just stand there. If you're staying the night, you need to get cleaned up, preferably now," she said, her eyes focused on his feet with a frown. This wasn't the first time they had shown up and made a mess. Too bad it would be impossible to get him in the habit of taking his shoes off before entering. She sighed and shooed him along. "You know where everything is, get going."

If he hadn't already turned away, the small smirk he wore would have been apparent. She always made a show when they first showed up, but he knew by the time he was out of the shower everything would be set up for him to sleep. Remaining silent, he merely nodded and headed down the hall towards the bathroom. Explanations could come later or she could ask Omega, if she wanted them.

With him gone, Rouge's attention shifted to the equally silent robot that was standing by her front door. How had he gotten that filthy? In all the missions they had done together, she didn't think she ever saw that much dirt and gunpowder on him and she swore she saw some chips in his paint under that. He was going to take a lot more work to get clean. So much for going to bed early, she thought.

"Wait here." A moment later and a bowl filled with warm water and a washcloth was placed beside him. Omega's exterior was built tough, meant to resist weather of all kind, but she still wanted to be careful. It was one thing to have something as uncontrollable as rain pouring down on him and another entirely to let too much water get inside him by forcing him into the shower along with Shadow. She almost laughed at the thought of them being forced to share the space together. Serve them right for constantly waking her up in the middle of the night.

The gentle whirring of his gears filled her ears as she settled down close to him and pulled one of his large claws toward her so she could begin cleaning his arm. He didn't object and allowed her to do as she wished with him. The red light that represented his 'eyes' followed her movements and the silence between the two held a sense of comfort. Whatever had transpired before his and Shadow's arrival would be told, but even he could appreciate that instead of asking questions first, she had been willing to help take care of them.

"What happened?" she finally asked, not looking up from her work.

There was hardly a pause before his steady, mechanical voice joined the sounds of his inner workings. "WE ARRIVED AT 23:26 TO AN AMBUSH. EGGMAN SENT SEVERAL SQUADRONS OF INFERIOR ROBOTS TO STOP US. THE BATTLE WAS OVER QUICKLY, BUT WE HAD SETBACKS." Vague at best, but Omega felt no need to go into details unless she asked for them. Everything else that happened was irrelevant; they had obviously succeeded in their mission and that was all there was to it.

"I'm glad you two returned in good shape." Despite her words, her tone held no doubt that they would have returned fine from their mission. They had never given her a reason to lack confidence in their ability, a quality she was pleased to find in allies.

Knowing she wasn't watching, Omega briefly placed his hand gently on her shoulder, only somewhat understanding the extent of her words. They fell back into silence. The few sounds that were in the room—the soft sound of the wash cloth rubbing against a metal surface, the occasional splash as the cloth met with the water in the bowl, and the constant low hum of machinery—remained and were only interrupted briefly when Shadow returned from his shower and took a seat on the couch near him. After having dried himself off, the Ultimate Lifeform appeared more… cuddly and fluffy, something that no one other than Omega and Rouge would ever get to see. It was a secret they were willing to take to the grave, though Rouge had made plenty of lighthearted, teasing comments about it when she first saw.

Once again, Rouge was the one to break the silence. "Enjoyed your shower~?"

"It was pleasant," he said with a shrug. The hot water had felt nice on his tense muscles and it was undeniable that he felt much more relaxed after it.

"Good." She refrained from asking whether or not her bathroom would need to be disinfected after he had cleaned himself. Who knew what he had all over him when he got inside the shower. That was something she could assess tomorrow, after they had left.

With the last of the dirt cleaned off of Omega, she dropped the cloth in the bowl and headed for the kitchen. As she did so, Shadow locked eyes with Omega for a second. Communicating that way was difficult to do when the other half of the 'conversation' was with a robot, but somehow, an agreement had been made and Shadow spoke up. "Rouge."

She stopped and turned partly at her name. "Yes?"

"Thank you." Gratitude was something rarely shown by Shadow and he lacked experience in showing it, but he hoped the simple words conveyed his appreciation. Blinking in mild surprise, her eyes shifted between the two and she noticed that even Omega was standing with what appeared to be appreciation. Or was she just imagining that?

She shook her head and went back towards the kitchen. "I'll get the blanket and pillow."

A moment later and the two guests were situated. She smiled lightly as she looked back over her teammates—one resting on the couch and the other sitting in the corner, watching the soon-to-be-asleep hedgehog. They would be gone hours before she woke up, she knew this. This wasn't the first time they had stayed here and it wouldn't be the last. And as she turned the lights off and headed back to bed, her smile widened a touch with an odd sense of pride. Who would have thought she'd be the one to give these two loners a place to call home?


End file.
